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View Poll Results: By what method did you get recruited in to fansubbing?

I started at the bottom and worked my way up with tutelage from my peers

53

39.26%

I started my own group and learned as I went along

41

30.37%

I joined a new group with one or two *experienced* fansubber who taught us how to do stuff

23

17.04%

I joined a new group and all of us were new and we worked it out as we went along

it's just saying that some groups are less fun to work with than others

One that Access admitted to being in, in fact (though, quite diplomatically, there was no name offered on either group referenced). I'd go as far as to say that Access' post was probably the least flamewar-worthy I've ever seen on Animesuki.

Maybe getfresh just misunderstood him? I mean, brainfarts happen. <_<; Not like you need to agree with a psychopat to make it even more obvious.

I wanted to respond to Access by saying that I miss projects going smoothly. It's been ages since I worked on a fast-paced project, and I guess I can blame our unrealistic expectations of what a quality fansub is. That's been drowning the group I'm in for the last year or so. Mix that with the absence of key project members and you kill half the fun. But I guess that's another spin-off topic for a different thread. orz

It's been ages since I worked on a fast-paced project, and I guess I can blame our unrealistic expectations of what a quality fansub is. That's been drowning the group I'm in for the last year or so. Mix that with the absence of key project members and you kill half the fun. But I guess that's another spin-off topic for a different thread. orz

Look at the game theory stuff I posted a while back, that looks at how to solve problems like this creatively within the group. But it requires honesty about one's status and good communication skills from all members. Ultimately, though, if all your projects seem to be persistently slow, a good personal solution is to join multiple groups and work only on projects you like. This diversity not only alleviates risk (from group breakups, slowdowns, arguments) but will also virtually ensure you always have something to do, someone to talk to, some project to work on, etc. Eventually you will get a feel for how many projects in total you can handle, and that's when you know when to stop joining new groups or looking for more work.

I started with l33t distro service out of my college dorm for 3 years until they added a firewall blocking all access. Just did little things to help out. Run through a script as a second editor, write up plot summaries of anime series for channel website, and also some episode comparison studies along with pictures between raw JPN version and US edited version. Later was taught timing from one of the staff.

As I posted earlier, I started/was dragged into fansubbing in September 2003 (Chrno Crusade was my first project). Right now, I have about 4 years of fansubbing experience. I doubt anyone knows me anyways, but I'm still bidding a farewell here.

Spoiler for bg:

Unlike most people who started fansubbing during college and high school years out of boredom, I started fansubbing when I'm already a Ph.D. Candidate (that's after passing all of the preliminaries) due to lack of motivations in my research activities, as I already uphold two Masters of Science and one Bachelors of Science degrees. The end result is that I've dragged on my dissertation for another four years while getting supported as a Teaching Assistant. I'm scheduled to finishing up my defense and dissertation this November/December. I can't let this to hinder my goal.

Spoiler for ass:

Another reason is that the number of fansubbers I met and talked to are pretty much assholes. I'm not going to point out who, but for example:

1. On a few occasions, I tried my best helping the person (a fansubber), but I ended up getting betrayed. It just makes me depressed after spending a vast amount of time in helping the person. Hence in a few failed attempts, I tried to open new groups, as I knew that I won't be the one to betray people, which naturally includes myself. But it didn't work out, because I lack of energy.

2. In a several fansubbing talks, bashings of other fansubbers occur. The talk is pretty much pointless and stupid. Basically, the job is free; it's not something we're getting paid for. This is what subbers are competing for - to bash out the competitions. The fact is: most subbers are too immature.

3. Quite a few older fansubbers (the ones longer than me and shorter than me) have high egos. They basically think that they own the fansubbing world. The fact is, they're just voicing their opinions based on their limited experiences. Newer subbers also like to voice their opinions quite often to think that this is how it should be done. There is no wrong or right way in subbing.

4. Finally, there are too many hypocrites or the ones that don't fit into the society who are fansubbers. Perhaps I am one of them, but the fact is true. And the people who like to reason are pretty much ignoramuses, trying to confuse people with words. The list can go on and on, but I'd rather not to go into emotional.

This is what makes me depressed every time I think of what they've been doing. It comes down to maturity. And, I would rather not to get any replies for this section, as I hate getting involved into arguments and debates; I am already depressed as it is, which is why I'm using the spoiler tags.

Spoiler for what:

Of course, I've met a few nice guys, but the bad guys ruled them out.

I have a few projects on my hands, and I wasn't sure what to do if I quit as a typesetter of those series (basically I make signs in photoshop and after-effects). I stick to making signs, because I am a more objective person rather than subjective, which is why I HATE styling and karaoke as part of the typesetting.

I was never proud of any of my work or anyone whom I worked with. So, it's about time to move on to a different kind of world. On top of that, I've already lost interest in anime as well as gaming.

I guess I missed something today with my crappy internets.

Anyway for my story, I wasn't really recruited... Draders sucked at editing with his FMA release @ Fork and I decided to help out. Fork became Nanashi and I was already there =\.

I was recruited by id-at a new group full of newbies in subbing. I'm new to fansubbing myself, as I can understand about 80% of a raw so I tried becoming a translator, now still the lone translator of id-at.

We found the group not joining one because we're focusing on indonesian subbing first, but english subbing is on the agenda once we're matured enough. Also internet connection from Indonesia <-> rest of the world is crappy.

I was fond of Seichi, and when I moved up to a university-level connection I volunteered it to them. They taught me Winny. When they became less active, I moved on to Anime-Forever, feeling indebted to them for their releases of Divergence Eve (in hindsight, I don't know why I felt moved over that series). Stayed there for a while, was slightly underutilized, and offered services to Anime-Kraze, Seichi's "sister group." I passed their test and was recruited along with Shock. Stayed with them for a while, researched Share and other Japanese filesharing programs... later also joined Froth-Bite as I was friends with Sylf. Had project-based stints with other fansub groups, including Anime Empire. Ultimately retired, and later came back to Froth-Bite as a translator. But translating was hard and very time-consuming for me, so I only did two episodes before dropping back off.

Ultimately quit because it was cutting into my grades and was becoming too demanding on my time. I miss it, somewhat, but I also understand where pichus is coming from when he discusses fansubber attitudes. Not that I didn't follow some of that behavior myself at certain times, I'm sure.

So this is the official "origins" thread? "Sailor Spork Productions" actually started out with just me, making AMV's back in the stone age in 2001. One day I came across Komugi Daisakusen raws (The SoulTaker omake), and since Nurse Witch Komugi-chan was popular, I spent weeks locked in my room with a dictionary translating it. Once it was done I had it spot checked with a Japanese girl I know, and went to work out the more technical aspects of fansubbing, including substation alpha and vdub and all that. Eventually I found a translator interested in Pugyuru, and another interested in the oldschool Cutie Honey, and our ragtag fansubbing group with its credo of "nothing is too unpopular to fansub" was born.

What really, really gets me is that around the time we started switching from AMVs to fansubbing, another utensil themed fansub group popped up to bootleg a ridiculously popular show after it had been licensed. We had been around awhile, but since they were more popular people keep asking me why we had to be assholes and spoof their name. Apparently this was sentiment spread by actual members of that fansub group, as I found out later when I was soliciting one of them to help with a project. I had to ask him to elaborate on what he meant by "I would, but, you know, the whole Spork/XXXXX thing..." Is this something that everyone knew about but us?

The whole ego thing is one reason why Spork doesn't have much of an IRC presence. We're around because we enjoy fansubbing anime that no one else will touch, and occasionally do joint with other people to fansub bigger animes that no one else will touch because that's fun too. The angst and drama can be avoided in the quieter groups. But the whole backstabbing & namecalling thing that pushes skilled people away is harder to avoid the bigger you become, and the more competitive the project you work on becomes.

Last edited by Apterous; 2007-10-30 at 15:38.
Reason: Removing other group name

Apparently this was sentiment spread by actual members of that fansub group, as I found out later when I was soliciting one of them to help with a project. I had to ask him to elaborate on what he meant by "I would, but, you know, the whole Spork/XXXXX thing..." Is this something that everyone knew about but us?

The whole ego thing is one reason why Spork doesn't have much of an IRC presence. We're around because we enjoy fansubbing anime that no one else will touch, and occasionally do joint with other people to fansub bigger animes that no one else will touch because that's fun too. The angst and drama can be avoided in the quieter groups. But the whole backstabbing & namecalling thing that pushes skilled people away is harder to avoid the bigger you become, and the more competitive the project you work on becomes.

Talking of 'angst and drama', 'backstabbing and namecalling', I'm not saying it doesn't happen today but I will say that few people today care enough to even get involved or drawn into it. There are larger groups that sub popular shows and the majority of their members are very laid back, they are not getting tied up in anything of this sort. It is not hard to avoid, you just have to learn to ignore it and move on when it does come up. If you feel like you have to get involved, or if it drives you away from a place you would rather be, then you have already lost to it.

Don't forget about manufactured drama and troll subs. Some people create their own drama for entertainment, and to some degree it can be rather fun as long as no one takes it too seriously. Sometimes the anime is boring, but you can have a lot of fun with it.

Don't forget about manufactured drama and troll subs. Some people create their own drama for entertainment, and to some degree it can be rather fun as long as no one takes it too seriously. Sometimes the anime is boring, but you can have a lot of fun with it.

Talking of 'angst and drama', 'backstabbing and namecalling', I'm not saying it doesn't happen today but I will say that few people today care enough to even get involved or drawn into it. There are larger groups that sub popular shows and the majority of their members are very laid back, they are not getting tied up in anything of this sort. It is not hard to avoid, you just have to learn to ignore it and move on when it does come up. If you feel like you have to get involved, or if it drives you away from a place you would rather be, then you have already lost to it.

Heh... my group has never really been involved in the backstabbing, but I remember some of the political drama while working on joint projects with other groups. One incident involved trying to push out the founder, who was pushing too many new projects too hard that no one else really had time to do. I was actually brought in in a joint for one of those projects, and ended up being project manager for another. It wasn't bad when we started, but by the end a lot of people had had it with the other projects. I don't need to tell people who have experienced it what it's like when trying to kick out the founder of a fansub group, especially when he's very, very "into" his group. He finally handed over the keys, as it were, when everyone left the staff channel and threatened to finish their projects in another group.

I'm glad Doremi doesn't have the same level of drama, they're much more fun to do joint work with. (waves at Mace & Lad) ...We need to find a new joint project...

This is a little test to see whether what I believe happening is right. It's been concerning me that over the past year the dynamics of fansubbing have been changing and that there is a move away from people joining established groups and working their way up through the ranks and getting experience and tutelage from those more experienced and instead more of a trend of diving headlong in to making their own group or joining a newly formed group.

Gum, I agree, I think it's a bad trend. I think due to the proliferation of bit torrent aggregrate sites there is much less interaction with subbers directly on irc, etc., so this is the cause of this phenomenon. Also the ease of timing/encoding has improved tremendously as well as the ability to get raws and more people studying Japanese. People would be more cordial and have better skill if they worked their way up like you and I.

When I started, even finding raws was hard (typically it involved someone having access to that mega korean site where 0-days subs + raws could be downloaded by members only) or, starting in 2001, knowing someone with an elite WinMX hookup on a Japanese server.

I got noticed originally in BakaMX for having a wide-open .edu connection and was hoodwinked into encoding for them in 2001 along with being recruited to L-E as a founding member by Sol for having a basic-enough understanding of Japanese to fudge a translation around the same time

-Tofu

Edit: on a side note, I did personally finance a couple of (S)VHS subbing projects in the late 90s by buying the masters and paying translators (this was common back then). Then I hooked up with a couple of established groups to work on said projects (Panda Kopanda and 3000 Leagues/Miles in Search of Mother. )

Ah yes... Back in the day (Early 2005), it was decided that I become a timer for a forum that I used to frequent. The cause? I was looking for Kino no Tabi episodes (hadn't watched it at the time), and the active (extension fansub group) ops of that forum struck a deal, that they would fork over a torrent. In return, they announced they would groom me (later, put them in their graves) and have me time for them. Good coercion, eh? I love those guys (One may be a guy... or girl, but I love them too). But after timing a few projects (Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust in .JP, and Elfen Lied DVD special), I went off on my own around September 2005.

I formed my own group, and hid the fact that it was my group from public (like I hid that dead hooker in the closet) , started on Guyver: The Bio-boosted Armor, and I had to learn/beg my way through this project, as my translation skills were not as... broad as they are now (which is still not broad enough). I was particularly fond of the one-episode-per-month release schedule. Eventually, learned a lot (Thank you salinde ) from that project (1 and a half bloody years to finish) to expand my horizon, and try new projects.

And now, I've developed a sarcastic feel, and it affects every line I enter into notepad when translating. While not significantly devoid of original meaning, I do enjoy writing a script that fits the tone. Doesn't everyone?

That's a very interesting thread.
Personally, I don't fit in none of the 4 categories. I'm from a country in Southern Europe and one day, in March 2005, I found a site dedicated to translation of manga from English into my native language and began editing and translating some projects. Sadly, that site couldn't gain much popularity and therefore I decided to stop. At the end of 2005, we had a meeting with other anime-fans in our city, and the girl who was the organizer, proposed to me to start translating anime instead in order to popularize it in our country. At first, I could only make translations from already timed scripts, but it didn't stop me to translate The Vision of Escaflowne (spring 2007). Then, I decided that I should teach myself in various programs, because I really wanted to make quality translations. I downloaded Aegisub and gradually I understood many tips and tricks which made my scripts really better. I also joined a fansub group (June 2007) that already had certain experience, and we are really giving our best in order to provide the fans in our country with quality releases. I even began learning how to make karaoke and, as of yesterday, I made one, albeit it's simple.
And that's my story in fansubbing, consisting only of self-study.

Hmm......I'm still really new to the fansubbing scene, because I got burnt out real quick and just got back into it last month (after a year away from the scene). So, please excuse my lack of experience and etc.

Anyways, I started out by helping out the group Animehaven back in like the latter part of 2006, I think. I didn't do much at all with them. Just several things, here and there, regarding TLC stuff. Well, I wasn't really officially a part of their group, so it's not like I made a real difference or anything. Then, in January 2007, I joined a fansub group (which is now pretty much dead) called Shintani Subs. I was the lead/only TLor for them, until before I decided to call it quits....due to being way too busy in RL and not enjoying the series I was translating, for the most part. This was around April of 2007, I think. (Yeah, I know it was a SHORT stint.) Anyways, fast forward to 2008. I read Tofusensei's interview at Anime News Network's website and was honestly moved/enlightened. So, I decided to visit Live-eviL's forum and check things out. There, I saw that they were looking for a full-time TLCer, so I got in contact with Tofu to see if the position was still open. And luckily, it was, so I went into the IRC channel and was eventually accepted. Now, I have been with Live-eviL for a month, and feel that I want to continue working with the group for a long time. Such a great bunch of fansubbers in the group, IMHO.

Let's see. My girlfriend is interested in fansubbing. I am not. Due to the fact that she is pointing a gun at me (not literally), I decided to join Orange-subs as an editor. It's fun nonetheless to start out and I have been fansubbing for just a short week or so. ^^

I was interested to improve my listening and knowledge in Japanese, so I joined gnu-fansubs as a translator to do Himawari!. Later, I moved on to Ryoumi as a tlc, then toybox-fansubs, and starlight fansubs. I've since left those groups due to many reasons, like leaders disappearing, or differences in expectations of speed/quality.

There have been my reasons to why I fansub, sometimes they overlap and sometimes they change, and they include: learning japanese, helping to promote an underrated show, giving back to the community which I picked up half my japanese from, getting to know other fansubbers, epeen, trolling fans and creating drama. Obviously, some are good and some are not-so-good.

Right now I'm in a certain speedsub group, and I suppose people will find a home in a group that suit their subbing style and expectations, so there I am.